The invention relates to protective enclosures or covers for mailboxes.
The conventional mailbox is a well known fixture in rural America and is a constant target for objects thrown by vandals from moving vehicles. The conventional mailbox, being made of sheet metal panels that form an arcuate roof, has at the outset a normally drab appearance, as far as many people are concerned. As installed, it becomes the target of objects thrown from passing automobiles and with use, it becomes progressively more unsightly as the sheet metal panels are dented and deformed by each encounter with a thrown object.
Many residence provide a decorative enclosure or cover for their mailbox. In addition to improving the aesthetics of the structure, such enclosures serve to protect the mailboxes from thrown objects and seemingly also serve to deter such acts of vandalism.
Most mailbox enclosures are made from wooden material and are either designed and assembled by the resident or are purchased locally as a substantially fully assembled structure in which the mailbox is inserted during installation. Very few mailbox enclosures are sold in kit form for assembly by the purchaser because most designs embody a simple box-like structure with either a sloping or peaked roof and people are generally reluctant to pay a premium price for a few precut wooden boards that then have to be assembled into a finished structure which for all intents and purposes can be assembled from materials that are readily available and easily cut with the aid of conventional household tools. The conventional designs are also expensive to ship in kit form because of the weight of the materials and it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that any reduction in the amount of material used not only saves shipping costs but also the basic cost of materials involved.